Ticketing start-up FanDragon makes senior hires

Mobile ticketing firm FanDragon Technologies has announced three new hires, including ticket industry veteran Steve Machin as global director of ticketing strategy and innovation.

Machin is joined by chief business officer/general counsel Mark Weiss and chief of staff Jason Black, with all three reporting director to FanDragon’s CEO, Robert Weiss.

“Seasoned executives like Steve, Mark and Jason will help inform our market strategy and push the limits of innovation,” says Robert Weiss. “These key hires bring decades of ticketing, business and tech expertise to FanDragon. I’m excited to continue building out our roster of industry experts who will fuel rapid company growth and reimagine the ticketing experience for all events.”

The appointment of Machin, Weiss and Black comes after FanDragon’s official launch late last month. According to the LA-headquartered company, the three will oversee FanDragon’s “efforts to deploy its full portfolio of SaaS services across the entire ticketing ecosystem”, including sports, music, theatre, cinema, family entertainment and more.

FanDragon provides software solutions that can be integrated into existing applications, and has been designed to commercialise the Aventus digital assets-focused blockchain protocol.

“These key hires bring decades of ticketing, business and tech expertise to FanDragon”

Steve Machin’s industry experience comes from several senior corporate roles, including at Live Nation, where he developed the UltraStar fan-club business. At Ticketmaster, Machin served as head of European music, introducing several new services, including global presales, following a spell overseeing acquisitions in corporate development.

More recently, he has worked as an independent entrepreneur and consultant on various ticketing and tech businesses. He also chairs the popular annual new tech session at the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) in London.

Mark Weiss, meanwhile, spent 18 years at Staples, where he closed over US$15 billion worth of mergers and acquisitions, and recently worked at private investment firm Cerberus, while Black’s experience includes spells at MTV, Fuse and EMI Music Publishing.

“With our proprietary SaaS [software-as-a-service] tech, FanDragon is setting a new standard for mobile ticket delivery,” continues Robert Weiss, “from tackling fraud head on and simplifying ticket transfer to putting the digital ticket at the heart of fan engagement.”

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